The Adequacy of New Jersey's Minimum Wage

Submission to the New Jersey Minimum Wage Advisory Commission
From: New Jersey Policy Perspective
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

By Jon Shure

Prior to adoption of the measure increasing it to $6.15 an hour in 2005 and $7.15 an hour last year, New Jersey’s minimum wage had been raised by only 10 cents an hour over 13 years. The long delay left minimum wage workers with a lot of ground to make up-too much, in fact for the most recent increases to have kept pace with the rising cost of living. The following analysis shows that the minimum wage has not kept up with the cost of living in one of the nation’s most expensive states, and offers recommendations for how to remedy the situation.